Support and ideas for those on low-carb diet

I (understood)!

I plant nasturtiums not only for the seeds, but also for their blackfly-magnet properties, to keep them off everything else. This year however I was late planting them out, as their raised bed wasn't ready, so I am hoping that now they are getting bigger the blackflies will transfer their affections to them. Usually it works really well and the broadbeans are entirely free of any fly, it has shown me that the nasturtiums are well worth growing for that alone.

Tonight we shall be having broad bean pod 'chips' with our meal. You dip slices of pod in milk, then flour, then fry until crispy and brown, and season. Not the healthiest of foods but delicious, and I do try to convince myself that they are far healthier than normal chips!

Right, home and back into routine.
Marinated, barbecued pork chops and escalivada (aubergine, courgette, pepper, onion, garlic), glass of Prosecco, glass of red, followed by large lump of gorgonzola.
BTW have you noticed that when we talk about the weight loss / health benefits of low-carb on other threads, that nobody joins in? Why would you not?
Genuinely interested in understanding.

I think some people just cannot get their head around the fact that low carb does not mean high fat.

It's the easiest diet in the world.

No! It's because your diets involve so many high falutin' recipes.

Wtf is escalivada?

Broad bean pod chips???!!!!

Who dreamt that one up?

Off to fry my cod and chips now.

normal chips.

Sorry Jings . Escalivada is barbecued whole vegetables. You cook on barbie until skin is black, put in brown paper bag for ten minutes, skin and soak in olive oil, salt and pepper. Not really that high falutin...

How long will escalivada keep once cooked? The reason I ask is because i got carried away with buying peppers, onions, courgettes, aubergines etc at yesterday's Farmers Market......we're going to have to get inventive or be put off certain veg for weeks!

Broad bean pod chips are really more like hot crisps, absolutely delicious but feel healthier to eat.

I thought I had better return to quinoa, I wasn't being very good and was in danger of starting to put weight back on. So made a huge pizza for the males, but I arranged my quinoa on a plate and covered it in roasted Mediterranean veg, a few slivers of salami, olives and feta so that it looked like a pizza. I quite like cauliflower rice, but needed more than that today. I did a lot of hefty gardening in 28C sunshine.

I think escalivada would keep a good few days in the fridge. I use plenty of olive oil and take them out as needed.
I sometimes put leftovers in a salad with a base like quinoa or pearled spelt and add preserved lemons, cumin and pistachios (or anything you like really!).

So, on the régime where you lose weight without counting calories, recording what you eat or doing frantic exercise.....
Today we had a mini salade niçoise for lunch and tonight is the first minestrone entirely made from this year's vegetables from the garden.

Exactly!

Boiled up two of our allotment beetroot today. Sliced them, placed on baking tray, drizzled with rapberry balsamic vinegar (unearthed from back of cupboard), placed a ring of goat's cheese on each, a dash of black pepper and under grill till bubbling.

Quick, easy, tasty. Just what a bank lunch should be.

not bothered by natural sugars in beetroot as still losing weight slowly but steadily

That sounds really delicious. We have eaten beetroot all the way through the diet, love it.

Love beetroot! Something very 'of the earth' about it. You just know it's got to be good for you.

It does sound delicious, my beetroots aren't big enough yet though as I sowed them very late. I love them raw grated finely, mixed with loads of olive oil and lemon juice and seasoning, and a huge amount of chopped mint. It's so hard to find raw beetroots now though, I have to go to the market.

I made some spicy root vegetable patties last weekend. The recipe was from Persiana and I just left out the boiled potatoes. Beetroot gave them a lovely colour and the date and tamarind sauce that goes with them was delicious.

OK the sauce contains honey but you only need to serve a small dollop to get the flavour.

I keep meaning to get that book!

Love Persiana (though I do adapt the recipes a bit).
DH was cooking tonight and it was fab. Wilted spinach, lightly fried salmon, tarragon and creme fraiche, mixed together and served with a few tiny new potatoes from the garden.

I had chicken curry on cauliflower rice. I sort of forgot somehow that I wasn't going to be tasting normal rice, it gave me quite a shock. As a result I do think I would never spring it on someone as a surprise.

We are having roast duck with courgettes and purple / green beans from the garden. We have, however, just found that both gas bottles are empty so the courgettes will be done in a parcel (the oven is electric) and the beans in the microwave. The limoncello sauce will be a bit of a challenge.

I dread that happening to us, I swear we are almost out of gas and that DBH twiddled with the little red pointer when he shouldn't have.

I did poached chicken breasts, picked loads of mangetouts and inevitably ended up with lots of peas too. I also picked loads of small globe artichokes, boiled them in water and white wine vinegar, then grilled them in olive oil and garlic. the chicken breasts were fried off in olive oil and butter and then kept warm while the other veg were cooked in it, with spring onions and parsley added.

It took me at least half a day just to get rid of all the bugs in the artichokes, I forget this every year. We will have big ones as a starter tomorrow. I love the fact that they are no work to grow, but they certainly make up for it in the amount of preparation required. Or I could of course acquire a liking for blackfly and earwigs...